Roll material dispenser



1, 1961 Y. v. WADDELL 2,994,488

ROLL MATERIAL DISPENSER Filed Nov. 18, 1959 INVENTOR Z Y/a/cy Viz/#00541.

United States Patent 2,994,488 ROLL MATERIAL DISPENSER Yancy V. Waddell, 5518 Clemons Road, Chattanooga, Tenn. Filed Nov. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 853,864 2 Claims. (Cl. 242-552) This invention relates to a device for dispensing rolled sheet material, and more particularly to a device for dispensing a roll of paper towels.

Heretofore, paper towel roll dispensers have comprised a base adapted to be secured by screws or other similar means to a vertical wall and a towel supporting arm secured parallel to the base to permit unrolling of the paper towels from the arm. Such towel dispensers, of necessity, provide means at each end of the towel supporting arm to prevent the towel roll from sliding off the arm.

It is therefore, an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages enumerated by providing a dispenser for sheet material, preferably paper towels, having means for supporting a towel supporting arm by one end only, in spaced relation to the base, in such a manner that a roll of sheet material may be thrust over the free end of the arm and rotatably held on the arm without any latching or stop means provided on the free end of the arm.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispenser for sheet material having a towel supporting arm fixed at one end to a base adapted to rest on a horizontal supporting surface in such a manner that the towel supporting arm slopes upward in the direction of its free end to permit the roll of sheet material, when placed upon the arm, to gravitate toward the lower fixed end of the arm.

A further object of this invention is to provide a towel supporting arm maintained at a slight acute angle to the horizontal and having a stop means of variable diameter on the lower end of said arm to rotatably support towel roll cores of different diameters.

Another object of this invention is to provide a towel roll supporting arm disposed at a slight angle to the horizontal, the arm terminating in frusto-conical surfaces expanding toward the ends of the arms, the lower frustoconical surface having at least a portion thereof of larger diameter than the roll core to be supported on said arm, while the upper frusto-conical surface has its greatest diameter less than the inner diameter of the roll core.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dispenser for sheet material having a roll supporting arm disposed at a slight angle to and supported at its lower end to a substantially fiat base of such weight that it will maintain the dispenser in a stable position on a horizontal supporting surface while sheet material is being withdrawn from the dispenser.

Another object of this invention is to provide a paper towel dispenser which is completely portable, is easily manipulated and is of simple and economical construction.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention with a paper towel roll, disclosed in phantom, mounted for dispensing', and

FIG. 2 is a side sectional elevation of the device disclosed in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the novel device for supporting and dispensing a roll of sheet material, such as a roll of paper towels 11 having a hollow core 12 open at both ends, is provided with a substantially rectangular supporting base 13 having a flat bottom 14 and being made of material substantially heavier than any of the other elements of the device 10 in order that the device 10 may be stabilized during the dispensing operation without any additional means for securing the base to a horizontal supporting surface, such as a table.

Extending upward from and near one end of the base 13 is a column 15. Fixed near the top of the column 15 and extending generally toward the opposite end of the base 13 is a substantially cylindrical towel supporting arm 16. It will be noted that the supporting arm 16 is fixed to the column 15 at one end 17, but is completely free and unsupported at its opposite end 18.

The arm 16 is supported at a slight angle to the base 13 in such a manner that the free end 18 is spaced farther than the fixed end 17 from the base 13. In the drawings, the arm 16 is fixed substantially normal to the column 15, while the column 15 is fixedly supported to the base 13 at a slightly acute angle. It is also to be understood that the column 15 may be normal to the base 13 with the arm 16 being fixed at a slight angle to the column 15, so long as the same relative diverging positions are maintained between the arm 16 and the base 13.

The opposite ends of the towel supporting arm 16 are constructed to form frusto-conical supporting members, or bearings, 21 and 22, respectively. The diameters of both bearings 21 and 22 are adapted to gradually increase toward the outer ends 17 and 18 of the arm 16. However, the frusto-conical bearing 21 is larger than the hearing 22, to the extent that at least a portion of the frusto conical bearing 21 has a diameter greater than the inner diameter of the core '12. On the other hand, no portion of the frusto-conical bearing 22 has a diameter quite as great as the inner diameter of the core 12. Thus, the relative sizes of the frusto-conical bearings 21 and 22 permit the core of the paper towel roll 12 to be easily slipped over the free end 18 and supporting member 22 to gravitate or slide downwardly over the supporting arm 16 until the lower end of the core 12 abuts against the portion of the bearing 21 where its diameter is substantially equal to the diameter of the core 12. In this position, as best disclosed in FIG. 2., only the lower end of the core 12 contacts the surface of the bearing 21 along a circle, and the upper end of the core 12 contacts the surface of the bearing 22 theoretically at the point 25 only, but in actual practice in a small area due to the flexibility and the imperfect shape of the usual core material, such as cardboard. Thus, the core 12 of the towel roll :11 contacts the arm 16 and bearings 21 and 22 at no other points to provide a minimum of frictional resistance to rotation of the towel core 12 on the supporting arm 16.

Moreover, the frusto-conical construction of the bearings 21 and 22 permits considerable latitude in the size of the core 12 which is mounted over the arm 16. It can readily be appreciated that the frusto-conical surfaces of the members 21 and 22 may be varied to accommodate even greater latitude in the diameters of difierent cores 12, so long as a portion of bearing 21 has a diameter greater than the diameter of the largest core employed, and the diameter of the smallest core is still greater than the largest diameter of the bearing 22. With the towel supporting arm 16 remaining stationary, while the towel roll 11 is rotated to dispense towels, there is sutficient friction between the core 12 and the bearings 21 and 22 to prevent continued rotation of the roll 11 when the end of the towel is released or a towel is separated from the roll. Yet the friction between the core 12 and the bearings 21 and 22 is slight enough to permit little effort in unwinding the towels from the roll. With such a supporting arm structure having frusto-conical bearings, the angle which the supporting arm .16 makes with the base 13 may be slight, preferably 10 to 30 degrees, which permits easy manipulation in dispensing the towels while preventing the towel roll 11 from sliding ofi the free end 18 of the supporting arm 16.

With the bearings 21 and 22 forming an integral part of the supporting arm 16, it is possible to manufacture the-device 10 with only three elements, 13, .15 and 16, supported in fixed relation to each other. The device has no moving parts, no hinges, no locks nor clasps, and needs no other supporting -or securing means. The device 10 is self-sustaining, independently operative and completeiy portable.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, andtherefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A dispenser for rolled material having a hollow cylindrical core open at both ends, comprising a weighted base having a flat bottom and a length substantially greater than its width, an upstanding column supported on and near one end of said base, a substantially cylindrical arm extending from said column in spaced relation to and generally longitudinally of and toward the opposite end of said base, said arm having a free end diverging away from said base, the diameter of said arm being less than the inner diameter of said cylindrical core, a non-rotatable frusto-conical bearing fixed to the end of said arm adjacent said column, said frusto-conical bearing expanding toward said column from a diameter less than the inner diameter of said core to a diameter greater than the inner diameter of said core.

2. A dispenser for rolled material having a hollow cylindrical core open at both ends, comprising a weighted base having a flat bottom and a length substantially greater than its width, an upstanding column supported on and near one end of said base, a substantially cylindrical arm extending from said column in spaced relation to and generally longitudinally 'of and toward the opposite end of said base, said arm having a free end diverging away from said base, the diameter of said arm being less than the inner diameter of said cylindrical core, a first non-rotatable frusto-conical bearing fixed to the end of said arm adjacent said column, said frusto-conical bearing expanding toward said column from a diameter less than the inner diameter of said core to a diameter greater than the inner diameter of said core, a second non-rotatable frustoconical bearing fixed adjacent the free end of said arm and expanding away from said column, the greatest diameter of said second bearing being less than the inner diameter of said core.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,379,164 Bullis May 24, 1921 1,414,971 Ahl May 2, 1922 1,522,377 Longvall Jan. 6, 1925 1,557,887 Sheeley Oct. 20, 1925 2,154,440 Crotts Apr. 18, 1939 2,661,165 Salmonson Dec. 1, 1953 

